The School of Hardy knocks

Originally published in our weekly supplement The Brief, April 7 2010. Click here for our MMA channel.

"I hope Hardy dies of AIDS." The tweet shows just how well Dan Hardy gets under some people's skin.

It has been sent by Marcus Davis, a UFC fighter comprehensively beaten by Hardy following a public feud between the Nottingham native and the American ex-boxer nicknamed the Irish Hand Grenade.

The fact it comes nine months after Hardy's win over Davis shows how much Hardy had got at him.

During the build-up to their fight in Germany last June, Hardy called Davis a fake Irishman and taunted him that his website "looked like a St Patrick's Day gift shop blew up". As the fight drew nearer, Hardy also encouraged fans on the internet to mock up gay Photoshop pictures of Davis. It turned into a genuine feud fuelled by dislike.

Hardy's cocky attitude and punk rock feel have made him a natural villain in a sport which tries to avoid the good guy/bad guy stylings of fake wrestling.

Even after Hardy's victory, when he tried to blow the feud off as just tactics to put Davis off his game, Davis refused to shake his hand. Hardy insists it was nothing personal. Davis clearly disagreed.

Less than a year on and Hardy, a further win against Mike Swick under his belt, finds himself fighting in America for the first time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the first time in four years. And this time, it's the biggest fight of his life .

the man nicknamed the Outlaw, who gets his moniker from fellow Nottingham icon Robin Hood, must try to steal the UFC's welterweight title from George "Rush" St-Pierre and become the first Brit to win a UFC title in the process.

St-Pierre, who is one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history, is a softly spoken French-Canadian just a year Hardy's senior.

He has held the title this time round for two years, during which time he has extended his dominance over the weight division. Higher-ranked fighters than Hardy have failed to challenge St-Pierre in that time.

Victory would be a tough ask for anyone. With just days to go, St-Pierre is heavily backed by the Las Vegas bookies for his "mandatory title defence".

Usa Today, America's main national newspaper, has a four-page pullout on the eve of the fight. A full page is given to St-Pierre. Hardy barely ranks a mention.

Even the customs official who stamps my passport has an opinion. When I tell him I'm in town for the fight, he says: "Your boy ain't got a hope."

The UFC are staging the fight in Newark, New Jersey, for a reason. It's just eight miles away from New York City, where MMA is not legal.

Breaking New York is the big dream for UFC and staging a fight in the hallowed Madison Square Garden an ambition. A sold-out beamback of the event to the Radio City Music Hall in the Big Apple is as near as they get.

Four thousand fans have turned up at the Prudential Centre to watch the weigh-ins and attend a Q&A session with Matt Serra, who has been training Hardy.

The stocky New York native has been helping the Brit hone his jiu-jitsu skills ahead of the fight .

He is also the last man to beat GSP, springing a major upset by dumping the Canadian for the title, almost exactly three years to the day before Hardy's bout.

Serra says of Hardy: "He can come across as a little rough, a little brash, in interviews.

"But he understands the game. He knows it's the fight business but that it's also the entertainment business.

Guys are either one way or the other with Hardy but that's not a bad thing.

"You either love him, or you hate him. But that's not the worst thing in the world as a fighter, because guys are gonna want to watch you."

Saturday night. It's 11pm as Hardy finally swaggers his way to the Octagon, flanked by his entourage. Only his eyes and redtipped mohawk are visible, the rest of the Outlaw's face obscured by a handkerchief tied in highwayman fashion.

About 17,000 people are packed into the arena - and virtually everyone is booing.

The small contingent of British fans are scattered throughout the building. It's the most hostile crowd Hardy has faced.

Blaring out over the catcalling by the fans in the Prudential Arena is England Belongs To Me, a raucous track by controversial punk pioneers Cock Sparrer originally released the year Hardy was born. It has become his anthem and he even appeared with the band in a video.

Hardy enters and struts round the cage, before St-Pierre makes his way out from his dressing room. The Canadian wears his trademark karate gi and headband.

St-Pierre is a study in calm, cool focus. Hardy sneers and smirks, baring his shark-tooth patterned gumshield, leaning in and cupping his ear cockily as name is announced.

The two men come out fighting on the signal of the referee, Hardy circling the cage, St-Pierre carving straight through the middle.

Dan's strategy is to keep the fight standing up and use his superior punching skills to look for a knockout.

Twenty seconds pass before the Canadian attempts to throw a jab. Hardy brushes it off with one of his own. And then St-Pierre takes the fight to the ground, shooting in, sweeping the Brit's legs out from underneath him and landing perfectly on top of him, inside his defensive guard.

Hardy tries to change position and control the fight from the bottom but St-Pierre's skills are superior and each attempt is countered. Each time he tries to get up, St-Pierre brings him back down.

This is the most dangerous time to be caught in a submission. Neither man is too sweaty or slippery, making it hard for them to slide out of a hold.

With less than 20 seconds to go of the first round, St-Pierre gets Hardy in an armbar, his gangly legs wrapped across Hardy's neck and chest, even as he wrenches and pulls on the arm. It's a move which would normally end a fight. Yet Hardy turns himself out of his prone position, frees his arm and is back in a boxing stance as the round ends.

It will be the story of the fight. As soon as a round begins, there will be a brief exchange of jab attempts, then St-Pierre will take the game to the deck. Time and again, he wrestles Hardy to the ground, dominating the fight with his positioning, yet failing to get the better of the younger man's flexibility.

Then comes the moment that changes the fight. In the fourth round, St-Pierre places Hardy in a kimura - an intensely painful submission move that sees Hardy's arm bent almost at a right angle behind his back.

Earlier in the night, we saw Polish fighter Tomas Drwal left in agony after being held in the equivalent hold on his foot for just a few seconds. Hardy somehow escapes and holds out for the end of the round.

After five rounds, the fight is over and it goes to the judges. All three unanimously award the fight to St-Pierre .

The stats tell their own story. During five rounds of action, St-Pierre was able to bring Hardy down 11 times and made six submission attempts. Unable to counter the Canadian's formidable wrestling skills, yet rarely falling victim to any credible damage, Hardy's biggest weakness was exposed.

Yet the man nicknamed Rush could only manage 35 strikes to Hardy during the whole 25 minutes - most of which were minor blows to the body. It was a textbook exercise in dominant wrestling by St-Pierre - and an exercise in resilience by the Outlaw.

After the event, the media cram into a sweltering, breeze-block lined room at the back of the arena. From there, UFC President Dana White introduces the winners of the night's main bouts.

Despite heavy interest from the British media, Hardy is not present. The UFC's American media have released him for the night. Instead, it is left to White and St-Pierre, who takes his place on the podium halfway through proceedings, to talk up the young Brit.

White is effusive in his praise for Dan, telling the assembled media: "I do think Hardy can be a world champion in future.

"I think he proved that to everybody. He has the skills, the talent and the knockout power. If he can improve his takedown defence, that'll be a real interesting fight."

St-Pierre, wearing a sharp suit and covered in cuts to his face from his 25-minute grappling encounter with Hardy, jokes he thought the British scrapper was made of rubber, such was his ability to survive the gruelling submission holds he put him through.

the next day, the Outlaw is already on his way out of town. Cleared by the doctors, Hardy is driving to Charlotte, North Carolina, to support his Team Rough House stablemate Ross Pearson.

The Sunderland brickie and Ultimate Fighter winner is scheduled to face Dennis Siver on TV three days after Hardy's pay-per-view bout.

En route, Hardy admits the fight against St-Pierre was a learning curve and vows to improve on the back of it.

"The thing about UFC is that, unlike boxing, defeat doesn't put you down at the end of the queue," he says.

"This sport has many examples of fighters losing a number of bouts and then challenging for, and winning, a world title.

"My contest against GSP taught me a lot and I'll utilise all of the lessons I've learnt to make me an even better fighter."

Firmly, he insists: "I know I can become world champion within 12 months."

Beaten but unbowed, the Outlaw leaves America's toughest city. He may not have dethroned the king but he has won the support of the people in his quest.

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